Jarvis vows to tackle child poverty

The move by Dan Jarvis, the Labour MP for Barnsley Central, comes on the heels of a new report which reveals that more than 20 per cent of children in the Barnsley Central constituency are living in poverty, with this going up to a third in some areas.

To mark the launch of the report this week, Mr Jarvis launching his public campaign, entitled ‘Just One Thing,’ calling on people in the town to suggest one thing they’d change to help tackle local child poverty. The campaign will see thousands of postcards distributed locally asking for ideas from members of the public and also those with specialist knowledge such as child social workers, teachers and other specialist workers. It will also ask members of the community to volunteer their skills through simple steps such as tutoring local youngsters with local charities.

Mr Jarvis said: “It is not acceptable that one in five of the children who grow up in my constituency do so in poverty. I think our community can play an important role in working together to improve this situation.”